


Radiant

by 1004 (A_n_g_e_l)



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band), K-pop
Genre: Investigator Kim Sehyoon, Investigator Park Junhee, M/M, Medical Examiner Lee Donghun, Medical Examiner’s Assistant Kim Byeongkwan, Rookie Investigator Kang Yuchan, The Rating is for Graphic Violence and Descriptions of Corpses, This is a Cop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:00:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_n_g_e_l/pseuds/1004
Summary: "Don’t lose your way now, love. You’re so close, one wrong step may just be fatal.”Park Junhee isn’t a rookie anymore. He’s seen more than his fair share of death and betrayal in his six years of working for the Seoul Metropolitan Police. That being said, when he, Sehyoon, and their newest addition Chan are placed in charge of a gruesome case that looks to be the work of a copycat killer, things become far more messy than any of them could have anticipated. Junhee and his team are playing a dangerous game, and the perpetrator is the one holding all the cards.
Relationships: Lee Donghun/Park Junhee | Jun, Others to be added
Comments: 17
Kudos: 56





	Radiant

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thank you for joining me on this new project of mine. I really should have been working on Atlas, but A.C.E really grabbed me by the throat and demanded attention so now I’m here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan gets more than he bargained for. Sehyoon dips on Junhee, and Junhee is stuck with a babbling senior officer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Yoo Youngjae gets the spotlight.. mainly because Park Junhee is drinking vinegar and since this is written in limited 3rd(most of the time) it shows. Our Junhee just wants to be as charming as senior officer Yoo 😔 
> 
> Little does he know, we find him just as lovely.

  
  


This was not a case Junhee had been ready for as soon as he had gotten onto shift. He and Sehyoon had been expecting perhaps an accidental death, or the elderly passing in their sleep. It’s only Yuchan’s second week; it’s not like they had been planning on throwing their rookie to the wolves. 

Hell, when they had gotten the call, Sehyoon had wanted to transfer the boy immediately. However, despite their misgivings, Kim Hyeim has given the go-ahead for them to handle it, without transferring Yuchan to a less.. emotionally taxing case. Traumatic, if you will. Her reasoning had been solid, though a bit cynical. The boy would have to face violent death at some point; he may as well start now.

The scene has already been blocked off by Daehyun’s unit, the ones who had been the first to respond to the call, but Junhee can already tell it isn’t pretty. Daehyun, veteran officer as he is, is stiff and awkward, even as he’s attempting to soothe a teenage boy in the doorway. Or perhaps the stiffness is because the young man is wailing inconsolably, and poor Daehyun, though gentle, has no knowledge of what to do in the face of a stranger’s tears. It’s an awful image, really. His hand is hovering over the boy’s shoulder, afraid to touch, but not willing to overlook the breakdown.

Sehyoon thrusts a coverall into Junhee’s arms while he’s staring at their unfortunate coworker. “Protective gear, before you burn a hole into Daehyun’s head.” The elder officer says, while pulling on his own hideous coverall. Chan is already completely decked out. Junhee wrinkles his nose, the very image of an affronted cat. He hates the feeling of all the layers underneath the material. It’s awfully restricting, makes him feel like he can’t bend his arms all the way. And the shoe covers? Don’t even get him started. He doesn’t even realize he’s grumbling under his breath until Sehyoon fondly smacks him over the back of the head. “I know, you hate it. Come on. The quicker we go in, the quicker we get out.” They both know his words are a lie. It’s going to take an eternity either way. 

Junhee doesn’t call him out on it, though his soft lips thin in displeasure. It’s time for them to get to work. As they approach the door, Daehyun’s head lifts, his gentle, perpetually sad eyes glinting with something that looks a lot like relief. 

“Youngjae is inside, in the bedroom. He’ll update you. Donghun-hyung and Byeongkwan are still on their way.” Daehyun murmurs, clearly not willing to fill them in on the gruesome details in front of the boy. It’s for the best; the wails have quieted to soft sniffles. Mentioning anything too specific may trigger another wave of loud sobbing, which would be preferably avoided by all parties involved, Junhee assumes.

Daehyun gently herds the teenager out of the doorway, and towards the edge of the porch to sit. Junhee inclines his head in acknowledgement and steps past them, partner and rookie in tow. 

The scent of death hits Junhee in the face the moment he cracks open the door. He suppresses the urge to grimace as he takes a step inside, glancing at Yuchan. The boy looks like he’s about to be sick. 

“Hyung.. how long have they been.. you know?” Yuchan whispers in hushed tones, as if the victim’s soul can hear him and he doesn’t want to offend. 

Sehyoon makes a quiet sound in the back of his throat. “Longer than twenty four hours, that’s for certain.” He doesn’t want to make any assumptions. With the summer heat and no running air conditioning in the house, decomposition could have been accelerated rapidly. With those words, he takes the lead towards the bedroom of the small house, following the soft sound of buzzing.

As they approach, the atmosphere becomes heavy. The amount of flies is staggering. They’re deafening, buzzing in droves. They’re all over the room. The window is cracked, allowing them in. The air is permeated with the cloyingly sweet stench of decay. The wretched scent of rotten flesh is wafting from the corpse, and yet, the image on the bed is so much worse. Black blood is encrusted on the sheets, leaving them stiff. There’s so much of it, it has spilled into the surrounding floor before drying in clumps. The loss of blood had been so much, there was no visible hint of livor mortis. Rigor mortis had long since set in and passed. The victim’s bloated, pallid corpse is chained to the headboard by the wrists, and has been violently slashed countless times, as if done in a fury. Fashionable clothes had been shredded by whatever blade had committed the crime. The pinkie is missing from the left hand, and it reeks something awful.

Yuchan turns on his heel and flees to, presumably, upheave the contents of his stomach in one of the bushes outside. Junhee doesn’t blame him; his own stomach is churning unpleasantly, despite his field experience. Sehyoon’s sharp jaw is clenched tight, eyes unmoving from the wriggling maggots visible in exposed flesh. Junhee may have seen corpses before, but the scene is chilling and far worse than anything his brain would have conjured. 

Youngjae, a senior officer with chubby cheeks and pretty angular eyes-Junhee would kill to have his visuals- is waiting for them beside the bed. “Kim Sangyun. The boy outside-Kim Byungjoo’s- older brother. My estimate for the time death was three days ago, though you’ll have to wait for Donghun for the official report.” He states, plump lips curling into a displeased frown. 

“The younger brother came over to look for him, since he wasn’t answering his messages or phone calls. Apparently they were close.” Junhee winces, clenching his jaw. He can’t imagine the feeling of finding one of his sisters like this. The thought makes his chest ache uncomfortably. 

“Can I do anything to help, hyung?” Yuchan reappears in the doorway, arm covering his nose in hopes of blocking out the scent and looking two shades paler. Sehyoon is the one to take pity on him.

“Go see if the neighbors noticed anything weird recently.” Chan reels back slightly, eyes wide. 

“By myself?” The rookie’s voice is muffled by his arm. Sehyoon shrugs.

“I’ll come with, if you need babysitting,” He says, not leaving room for argument as he takes his leave, Chan hurrying after him, protesting. Junhee clenches his jaw, lips turning downwards into a bitter pout. This is bullying. How dare Sehyoon leave him alone with Yoo Youngjae to deal with the body?

Junhee steels himself. On one hand, Yoo Youngjae is a dedicated officer, intelligent enough to hack any system-why he’s only a police officer Junhee will never know- and charming enough to talk criminals into confessing without a second thought. On the other hand, Yoo Youngjae is boisterous, and clings to childish tendencies.

Junhee only sighs, in the end, and tilts his head at Youngjae in a mutual understanding. They begin evidence collecting as Youngjae starts to babble away. It kind of goes in one ear and out the other, but Junhee does catch something about fingerprints from door knobs, and.. Daehyun not responding to a call, something about a party prank gone wrong? He doesn’t know where his senior officer is going with his story, so instead, Junhee focuses his attention on collecting a strand of hair here, a knocked over small vial of.. something knocked onto the floor there by the bed, blood samples from the sheets and the floors; they’re about half way done with the bedroom by the time Donghun and Byeongkwan arrive. 

Those two look unfazed by the scene, Donghun giving the two officers a nod of acknowledgement as he gets to business, pulling on a pair of gloves. He looks as handsome and immaculate as always, only barely sparing Junhee a glance. Byeongkwan seems pretty chipper in comparison, giving Junhee a happy wave as he moves closer to examine the maggots. Junhee waves at him in return.

“Nasty one, isn’t it?” Donghun remarks, checking out the corpse for a general, with a seriously disapproving gaze. Junhee bites at the inside of his cheek as Byeongkwan makes a soft humming noise in agreement, barely audible over the buzzing of the flies as he bends down to get a good look at the maggots. Junhee involuntarily shudders.

“Someone must have been angry.” Byeongkwan agrees, and Junhee imagines that if the medical examiner’s assistant had a tail, it’d be lazily flicking from side to side in a display of masked curiosity. 

Youngjae just shakes his head in something like disappointment, while measuring and photographing the blood splatters on the walls. “Either this guy was on someone’s bad side, or he was very, very unlucky.” The senior officer adds, small hands unwavering. He doesn’t even look up from what he’s doing. 

“Byeongkwan, go ahead and give me a general analysis.” Donghun encourages gently-it irks Junhee for a reason unknown- and his assistant nods, approaching the rotting corpse. 

“Young man, early twenties. Healthy, exercised more than the average person. Missing a finger, no signs of healing. Signs indicating he lost it sometime while being killed. Died…” Byeongkwan’s angular eyes narrow in concentration. “Probably between seventy two and ninety six hours ago, leaning closer to seventy two taking into account the awful weather, bloating, the maggots...” He wrinkles his nose. “..not to mention the smell. Also, the mouth area-” He pauses, before hesitantly reaching out with a gloved hand, looking at Donghun for confirmation. The medical examiner nods, and with the cue, Byeongkwan pries the jaw open, only to stumble back in horror. “Oh god..”

Donghun, ignoring the younger’s reaction, uses a pair of forceps to extract something from the mouth. Junhee looks, out of morbid curiosity, only to immensely regret it. He could have gone his entire life without having seen Donghun pulling a second tongue from a corpse’s mouth. It’s cut away cleanly at the base, and is rather preserved looking. “Was it..” he grimaces, hating the fact his voice sounds tiny and shaken. “Added post mortem, or..?” He leaves the second half of the question unsaid.

“..there’s no sign of damage to it, and hasn’t decayed as much as one would expect. It was probably preserved and shoved in post mortem.” Donghun replies bluntly. The ‘hopefully’ goes unstated, but heard. Junhee can feel the blood drain from his face. 

They all fall into silence, the seriousness of the situation leaving a solemn feeling in the air. The rest of the preliminary examination is done under Donghun’s quiet guidance, and afterwards Kim Sangyun’s body is unbound from the bed, and, with massive effort, placed into a body bag to be brought back to the morgue. Remnants of rotten flesh are left behind, blackened and sludgy. Junhee’s stomach flips once more. He grits his teeth in order to avoid heaving up all of its contents. 

As the medical examiner and his assistant cart away the body bag, muscles straining at their sleeves under the weight of the corpse, Junhee resists the urge to sag against the wall. He should be used to this. He really should be. However, any time there’s a body, much less one like that, sliced up into ribbons and disrespected so blatantly, he thinks he should have just agreed to be part of the task force centered around removing the drug runners from the inner city. At least then, the murders are simple. For the most part. There are occasional anomalies, but that’s for everything. Usually those cases consist of turf wars and simple shootings. Nasty in their own right, but so much less personal.

Junhee sighs, lips parting ever so slightly. “Let’s get done with bagging and tagging all of this so we can get back.” There’s still the entire house left to get through. There was also evidence of a scuffle in the living room, though Jimin’s unit is handling that area. He can hear the guy’s commands drift through the thin walls. It makes him wonder how no one reported any screaming. Junhee himself wants to scream. 

He should drag Sehyoon back in to help them. Yuchan isn’t so socially incompetent that he would need constant watching while he interviews potential witnesses. In fact, the boy seems rather socially competent in comparison to at least half of the officers on the force. Junhee restrains himself anyway. He and Youngjae can manage on their own. 

The process, however, is both stressful, annoying, and mind dumbing all at once, since Donghun and Byeongkwan have left. It takes them hours to finish, searching the crime scene and the entire property in a grid pattern, despite more officers being sent to the scene, taking part of other parts of the house. Youngjae happily makes a one sided conversation, the cutely oblivious chatterbox that he is, while Junhee occasionally hums a sound of response while he concentrates on not missing anything important, collecting blood, hair, and even the sheets themselves. Junhee tunes back in a couple of hours later, catching the tail end of whatever story Youngjae has been babbling about. 

“-was going on a year or two before you joined! There was a serial killer who had a thing for takings pieces of the bodies, and leaving the pieces of their last victim with their newest.” 

“Wait, wait.” Junhee pauses, turning to look at Youngjae with wide eyes. “Why did no one mention this? That could be critical to this case.”

Youngjae only giggles, gloved hand coming up to hide his mouth delicately, though he’s visibly careful to not touch his skin to avoid contaminating something. “The killer was caught, silly. It’s probably a copycat; the Wretched Killer case was all over the news. Besides, no one knew this case was similar before Mr. Genius showed up and his assistant decided to check out the guy’s mouth. _And_ I’m telling you now, aren’t I? Don’t complain.” The chubby cheeked officer smiles prettily, looking serene. “I can get the files pulled for you once we get back to the station. Hakyeon-hyung was one of the ones leading the investigation at the time too, so you can talk to him when you get the chance.”

Junhee really wants to hit his head against the wall at Youngjae’s unperturbed behavior as he continues on. His senior is a good officer, but he’s a bit of a daydreamer, much more so than anyone who has seen so many deaths has any right to be. He continues listening for a while, but nothing else that the shorter male says is of any importance. 

Daehyun joins them eventually, turning Youngjae’s ramblings into a proper conversation. That man needs to stop encouraging this behavior, really. Junhee internally steels himself. He’s fond of his fellow officers, he swears. It’s just that neither of his seniors know how to read the atmosphere. Or rather, Daehyun knows, but he chooses to ignore for the sake of his investigative partner. 

Junhee takes a swab of a smear on the night table. The peals of bright laughter that come from Youngjae’s lips as soon as Daehyun is in his vicinity grate on Junhee’s nerves. Junhee, spitefully, can’t help but wonder if Daehyun just left the victim’s brother to his own devices. 

This is serious. Someone just died. Was killed, even, but neither Daehyun nor Youngjae are even trying to look grave, now that the victim’s brother is out of the way. Perhaps Junhee’s discomfort stems from the fact he, despite having a partner, a solid 87% success record, and even his own trainee, is a rookie by Youngjae and Daehyun’s standards. He’s almost sickened by their nonchalant demeanor. They, in comparison, have been working the more unsavory cases for as long as Junhee has been on the force. 

Perhaps they’ve become desensitized to it with how long they’ve been around, or perhaps it’s a playful façade to hide the turmoil beneath. Junhee, despite his faint feelings of disdain, can’t truly hold it against them. In this line of work, you either find some way to cope, or allow what you see to get to you. He supposes compartmentalizing is better than turning to vices, the way many officers have in the past. He personally has found himself oftentimes ranting to Sehyoon, who always sighs and pats him on the shoulder consolingly. 

An exhausted exhale passes Junhee’s lips, and he straightens up. “That should be the last of it.” He announces, placing his final bag into the evidence crate. “I’m going back to the station.” He strides out of the room, stretching his back and feeling the relief of no longer hunching over. Now he just needs to check on Jimin’s unit to make sure everything is going well before he collects his own his partner and rookie.

Thankfully, Jimin’s unit is competent and don’t need overseeing, so Junhee can simply glance over them and brush by. Sehyoon and Yuchan, on the other hand, are right outside the door, having finished up their interviews, and double checking around the porch for evidence of a break in or a struggle, in case something was missed the first time. The sky is turning bloody and bruised as the colors swirl around fluffy clouds as the sun sinks below the horizon. 

Unfortunately, it’s not only the sunset that catches Junhee’s eye. There’s a young woman with a displeased air about her as she stands at the yellow police lines, holding a striking bouquet of flowers. Short hair. Pencil skirt. Immaculate blouse. Fake nails, scowling. Vibrant red lipstick. Expensive. Out of place in a rundown neighborhood like this. He’s automatically on edge.

Junhee stalks past Sehyoon and Yuchan, approaching the woman at the end of the property with a cock of his head. “Do you need something?” He asks gently, but she shakes her head, scowl becoming deeper ingrained on her face.

“There was an anonymous delivery for the officers at this address.” She says, tapping her foot in an impatient manner. “Look, can you just take them, hand it to whoever? I have another delivery scheduled in twenty minutes and it’s across town.” 

The delivery woman thrusts the flowers at Junhee gracelessly and makes her way back to the company car before they can stop her. It’s fine. They can always track down the boutique later. Instead of worrying about it, Junhee looks down at the bouquet in his hands. It’s far heavier than it appears.

Not only that, but it’s beautiful, really. Made up of white carnations and red spider lilies, the contrasting colors pair well together. There’s a card inside, too. Printed in a classy font on a thick paper, it was clearly a custom card done by the flower boutique that had delivered it. When Junhee finally takes in the golden embossed words in front of him, he stiffens up, veins freezing in trepidation.

_When will you open your eyes, love?_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta we die like Xiao Xingchen.
> 
> Also, here’s some background on how this police department works because I’m not following real life standard:
> 
> We’ve got our normal officers, senior officers, assistant inspectors and inspectors, senior inspectors. Above them we have lieutenant, captain, assistant commissioner and then the commissioner. In real life there are more levels of hierarchy and under different titles but I cut some out and changed titles because I can. Can’t be too true to life, after all.
> 
> All this being said, Sehyoon and Junhee are inspectors, and have been for two years. This is their first big case they’ve going to be placed in charge of, but have worked on murder cases before(just not as lead, and not as messy). Junhee is 25. Sehyoon is 26.
> 
> Chan is rookie, but is aiming to be an assistant inspector. Second week as an investigator, but was a patrol officer for four years(mostly just gave out speeding tickets, and a couple of minor car crashes). Current age is 23.
> 
> Jung Daehyun and Yoo Youngjae are both senior officers. They generally have about the same amount of weight as Sehyoon and Junhee, with a tad more because they do have seniority. 
> 
> Jimin and his team members are normal officers. They’re solid at what they do, but don’t particularly stand out too much in Junhee’s perspective. Hard workers. 
> 
> Cha Hakyeon is a senior inspector, and has been in charge of many messy cases in the past. Has been aged up for the sake of the story. He was 27 when he was in charge of the Wretched Killer case. Currently 34.
> 
> Kim Minseok is our lieutenant.
> 
> Kim Taeyang is the captain. 
> 
> Assistant commissioner is our lovely editor Kang.
> 
> Kim Hyeim is the commissioner.
> 
> Our medical examiner Donghun is 27(genius, went into college early, graduated early, took his time in med school, had his 4 years of residency, and has been at his current job for a year).
> 
> As for Byeongkwan, he’s 24. He’s had the job as Donghun’s assistant for six months now.
> 
> Also, this is the prologue, the chapter is shorter than most. The coming ones will probably be around 5000.
> 
> Leave a review or I’ll eat ur hands.


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